Author's note: Enjoy!

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns the canon, world, and characters portrayed below and you can tell I'm not J.K. Rowling because #transrights

Content Warnings: NA

National Emergencies

"What's wrong?" Kingsley asked Tonks when she marched into his office, pale as a sheet. "My secretary said it was an emergency? What…"

"I lost my wedding ring," Tonks said quietly, absolutely horrified with herself.

Kingsley blinked.

"You… you lost your wedding ring," he repeated carefully, to make sure he got that right.

"I have absolutely no idea where it is," Tonks said. "I've tried every tracking spell I can think of… I mean, I think I had it on when I left the house but Remus was dealing with the landlord and Teddy was being very high-maintenance and poopy, so I'm not sure. Oh Merlin, what if it's in a diaper somewhere? Because then I got here in a rush, swung by the coffee cart in between two meetings, spent about two seconds in the office and was dispatched to a Rodolphus Lestrange sighting in Bath—"

"A what where?" Kingsley asked, interest perking up.

"I filed the paperwork, you'll get it soon enough," Tonks said dismissively, waving him off before she went back to chewing on her index knuckle nervously. "So that took up a few hours, so annoying… and then I had another meeting because that's my whole life now… I left early to run a physical training session with the new Aurors so I changed into my workout clothes, but I checked the gym and changing rooms and it's not there… oh fuck Kingsley, what if I lost it in Bath? I don't have a single fucking clue, I just noticed after lunch and I've been looking ever since."

Kingsley just stared at her as she blabbered on about her day.

"You… you told my secretary there was an emergency in the Auror's Department for this?" he asked, not sure whether he should be upset or amused by this.

"I did not," Tonks said defensively. "I told her I had an emergency and needed to talk to you. And I'm an Auror. I won't be held responsible for any dots that may have been connected."

"Tonks, I'm the Minister of Magic," Kingsley said. "Of course Sandrine connected those dots."

"Well, I'm still your friend aren't I, and you're still mine?" she said. "I'm panicking, Kingsley, I'm sure I had it on when I left the house but I've been running around the goddamned ministry all day so who knows? This is bad."

"Just send Remus a Patronus, maybe you left it at home," he said.

"Oh no, see, he can't know," she said, eyes wide.

"Oh, come on, Tonks…"

"He can't know! He trusted me with it even if I'm clumsy and lose things all the time. And I've been so good with it until now…"

"Remus doesn't strike me as the type of man who associates the worth and virtue of his whole marriage to a piece of jewellery. It's just a ring," Kingsley tried to reason.

"It was his mother's ring," Tonks hissed.

"He'll understand, Tonks."

"She's one of his favourite people in the world!"

"So are you."

"Not if I lose his mother's ring I won't be," Tonks said.

Kingsley laughed at that. He shouldn't be laughing, that was rude of him. But at the same time, he'd had such an absolutely exhausting day that for Tonks to burst into his office and remind him that he was her friend and a person instead of an endless problem-solving, wisdom-dispensing, diplomacy-exercising, budget-reading machine… That was exactly what he needed.

Plus, the woman was panicking. He'd seen her calmer with five wands pointed at her throat and a gaggle of freshly-hatched dragons nipping at her ankles. Something needed to be done.

"Alright," Kingsley said. "Let me tell Sandrine to clear my afternoon and we'll go retrace your steps…"

"Clear your afternoon?" Tonks said, startling back to reality. "Well that's a bit much, isn't it?"

"Now, now," Kingsley said. "I'm your friend, but I'm also the Minister of Magic. I think I know what my priorities for this country are."

A smile actually cracked Tonks's nervous face.

"Well, if you're sure if it's for the national good…"

"I am," Kingsley nodded.

WC: 684